MOSCOW

Russia is GREAT! We are back in Europe! Modern life! Whoo hoo! Ok- so the prices have gone up too... but were at the end of the trip... have rediscovered the vocabulary of 'charge it!' Feel a little like we are FINALLY on VACATION!

Moscow is really gorgeous...and very cosmopolitan. MUCH more than we expected. Feels like New York in lots of ways (perhaps becuase we have been out of the loop?) In other ways- the Russian masses (without having too much one on one interaction in depth) totally live up to all the sterotypes that you think of and imagine from the movies and back in the days of the Cold War (mostly visually i think- we've had great fun people watching...)

Got in yesterday...walked around Red Square and then went out for fancy Russian dinner... Shawn even drank a few shots of vodka and cognac. Also had pickels, herring, wild mushrooms, borsht, perogies (?) and then main dishes with meatballs, rice, potates... then some fried farmers cheese with berry jam for dessert!

Today got up early...back to Red Square...saw the Kremlin.. the Armory, St Basil:s Catherdaral....walked down Arbat (?) street and did a mini architecture tour.... A bsuy day! Tomorrow perhaps a tour of the artsy subway stations...see Lenin's body/tomb..or a few museums. And yes we ate at McDonalds here too )things are VERY expensive!!!)

Then we head to St Petersburg for a few days, to Tallinn Esonia for a few more days... one day stopover in Prague... then back in NYC on Aug 2 (then we travel around the states to catch up with family and for Shawn to teach Guitar Camp up in Bar Harbor- I get to tag along...Yippee! One more week of vacation before back to reality)


I doubt I will have much time to blog in the next week or so... perhaps Shawn will add some more photos? I promise to do a wrap-up posting once we are back.

Can:t believe it has been 4 months already... but both Shawn and I were saying that we feel excited to come home... that the trip was a great adventure, crazy experiences and so much fun- but by no means an 'escape'.. we are both really happy with our lives at home and looking forward to getting back to them. Already plotting our next adventure.... Madagascar? Namibia? Galapagos? Budapest? Paris! Lions and tigers and bears OHMY!!!!!

TRANSIBERIAN

Got on the train in Beijing... got off in Moscow!
Well, we did hop off at stops along the way to catch a breath of fresh air and stretch our legs.... but the ride was straight through. 6 days 5 nights.

We were in 2nd class (4 bunks to a cabin0 but had it to ourselves after the first night... in fact we had the WHOLE CAR to ourselves for the last half of the trip (excpet for our cute Chinese porter... each train has one who sort of 'lives' in the last berth for the duration of the trip...keep things clean (yes, they even vaccuumed the hallway periodically) made sure the samovar always had fresh hot boiled water for tea/instant noodles...gave us fresh sheets, stocked the bathroom with toilet papere...and kept a stach of cold beer and extra food if needed in dire straights.They also made sure we were back on the train in time when it was pulling out of the station!

The train itself was very fancy... white table cloth on our little cabin table... carpeting, electrical outlets.. even piped in music if desired. The bathroom was always clean (although surprisingly it just flushed right out onto the track.. as a result always locked when we were in a station) No shower...but we had been forwarner so brought a washcloth, liquid soaps, and a large tupperware for sink bathing with hot water from the samovar.

The dining car left a bit to be desired )overpriced and not that appetizing0 We had stocked up on oatmeal, noodles, tea, crackers peanut butter, candy chocolate etc and boarder with t big box... but even that got old so we did eat in the dining car some. it changed with each country! Fried eggs were always a safe bet. Beer too. The Russian car smelled like my aunt Deloris's house in Caseville...

Met some other travellors on the trip, Shawn played lots of guitar. We also had a whooping game of Boggle with everyone! Overall- once I settled in to the fact that we were going to be on that train for 5 days... it didn:t take long to get into MAJOR RELAX MODE and nap several times a day, read my book, listen to Ipod, do crosswords, etc.

The scenery was gorgeous... first the Gobi Desert.. then into Mongolia (lots of livestock and yurts (tents)...Siberian countryside with rolling hills, feilds of wildflowers, peasant villages...then into the Ural mountains, birch tree forests smattered with pines... and soon into the suburban outskirts of Moscow.

The border crossing were time consuming and strict but without a hitch.... had fun spending all our last Chinese Yuan at the duty free sote at the border of Mongolia. Shawn had enough Dove chocolate bars to exceed one per day!

And at night we slept SO well to the rocking of the train (also becuase it was so clean, the bunks were plenty big and had fresh cloth covers in addition to sheets)...
I did go a little stir crazy at times the first few days... buy by the end was sad to have the trip end...

3 DAYS IN BEIJING

Hello everyone! we have been so BUSY trying to squeeze every last ounce of fun and activity our of our last few days of the trip....so i am going to be brief with a synopsis...

BEIJING
Stayed with our friend MARCUS (he is German and has been living there for about a year a and half...
Day 1 Summer Palace
Day 2 Fobidden City and Tienamen (sp?) Square, Fancy dinner of Peking Duck downtown, also grocery shopping to get ready for the big Transiberian Train trip
Day 3 Bus/minibus a few hours outside of town to Sumatai to climb the Great Wall!

Thoughts on Beijing* very crowded! Even the touristy sites...think Disneyland caliber lines at the peak of spring break. Obviously- with 6 times the population of the US and only 1 coast to concentrate everyone onto! (Another interesting fact- not exactly sure on the numbers- but I think the Chinese financial SUPRLUS is something like 3 times what our DEFICIT is!) Riding the subways at rush hour was....um...quite an experience!

Also the pollution form all the industry was very obvious- the smog was there everyday- made the sun look like an orangier version of the moon. No blue sky at all... and was hard to see the Great Wall (obstructed views0 simply from from the smog even though we had gone to the less touristy site to climb... That said- they are shutting it all down/moving the plants out of town for the Olympics- so that is at least encouraging a temporary fix. The construction, renovation, clean up etc that is going on for the Olympics is EVERYWHERE and the city will look SPECTACULAR (at least for those 2 weeks!

Summary of meals* AMAZING FOOD EVERYWHERE!!!!! (Ok we did eat at McDonalds once)

The touts selling hats and postcards at the Great Wall saw Shawn's guitar and asked for a song... he played 'Gimme Some Money' from the Spinal Tap soundtrack... they didn:t understand the verses but they got the joke when it came to the chorus! Their anthem had come to life. Thats one thing that has been universal from country to country... 'Hello, Money?' Come on... at least try to sell me an overpriced trinket!

LHASA and RURAL TIBET

Wow- so much more to write and say about our journey.... but I cannot get myself in the mood to write! Perhaps because there is so much I am not sure where to start. Hopefully some of the photos will speak for themselves. Tibet is one of the few places on the trip where I have been really amazed because it is so unusual and different yet also relaxed in taking it all in! The land is also just breathtaking and really contributes to the experience.


Rolling hills, yaks... tiny rural towns that look like the old West

Potala Palace here in Lhasa (were the Dalai Lama lived before exile) built over hundreds of years each Lama adding on since the 1600s... includes the tombs of all the previous Lamas- intricate gold and inlay... a maze of tiny rooms narrow passages and ladders. Pretty much vacant - has an empty lonely feel since Chinese ransacked and all the monks/Dalai Lama left...but then to have all the Tibetans prostratingm chanting and walking koras so devotely and in crowds around the outside.... yet they can't come in except as tourists to see. A bizarre concept.

Jokhar temple in the center of town - the most sacred site of pilgrimage... Dark ornate rooms...crammed with Tibetans carrying yak butter offerings... smoky from the candles...every inch adorned with gold statuary, fabric or mural/painting. Need more photos to better illutrate... everyone moving in clockwise roation from little chrine to shrine up the levels all the way to the roof... many many monks chanting in low tones... amazing atmosphere- felt really out of this world... Then in front of the temple all the Tibetans lying directly on the ground in worship...up and down chanting...it was hard to tiptoe through them to get back out.

Other notables.... quaint narrow streets to wander (in the old quarter- not the new Chinese neighborhoods- that said- has been nice to go there the modern grocery store and buy snacks and toiletries) Neat Muslim quarter ( talk about confusing...to be be Tibetan, Chinese?, AND muslim!)

YUMMYYUMMY food aplenty...and cheap! Yak dumplings. Fresh steamed buns.Szechuan (sp?) Chinese EVERYTHING. Yak yogurt. Snickers! Euro bakery with cinnamon rolls. Sweet milk tea (NO salty greasy yak butter tea for us)

Lovely just to wander around town. People watch....
Not doing Tibet or Lhasa any justice here in writing , just having writers block. Feeling too relaxed and happy to motivate? More in person as we are nearing the 2 week coundown!!! AAAAEEEEEIII! (Don't know if thats good or bad- I think both!)

Tomorrow we fly to Beijing for a fast 3 days of touristic sights... Forbidden City, Great Wall, Summer Palace, Tianamen (sp?) square...
Then we are on the Transiberian Rail from Beijing to Moscow (via Mongolia for 5 days.) SO may not be blogging for a awhile! Will write more as SOON as I can.
BYE BYE

TIBET Update

SO the secret is out...we went to Base Camp Everest! Didn't want to say anything in case we didn't make it there- or if it was covered in clouds and we never saw it!
Shawn was great and spent alot of time putting photos up for everyone to enjoy....

Basically we hired a 4x4 with driver and guide for 6 days/5 nights with another wonderful couple (Laurent and Jimena- he's French, she's Argentinian and they live in Paris) We stopped at several small towns along the way to see monastaries and more rural Tibet... the scenery along the way was out of this world! Smooth rolling mountains covered with green tundra, sandy dunes, craggy rocks- quite varied adn all very grand.

Everst Base camp itself was a row of tents at the base of the mountain (around 5100 meters- but we felt overall OK) The tent was lined with cushioned benches at the outer perimeter (where you sit/sleep etc) and a wood stove in the middle....big enough to sleep 5. Upon arrival in the afternoon- we saw Everest for about 5 minutes then the clouds moved in... we hiked 4km up to the actual "base camp marker" despite the lack of view (huffing and puffing!)

In the evening we hung out in the tent with the Tibetans and a few other travellors (not many climbers this time of year- the best weather is in May/early June)The 2 Tibetan brothers running our tent were so hospitable- one sip of tea from the glass and they were already filling up your cup! Shawn lead a sing along with the guitar - the Tibetans particularly loved "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" and anything in Ragtime style- a few even danced! Another Tibetan went and got his "Tibetan: guitar and played some traditional songs as well while the women sang.

That night before going to bed- the two brothers piled huge thick blankets and comforters onto each of us... and tucked everyone in individually. By 2 am I knew why! The stove had gone out, it was pitch black and EXTREMELY cold!!!! Still, we managed to get up VERY early at 6 am- to get a glimpse of Everest in the incredible moon and starlight... then (shivering) we watched as the sun came up- then loaded into a horse cart (with guitars!) to make the short journey back up to the "base camp marker" for some more photos and sunny views (but still BRRRR!)

Back at the tent- we still had cloud free views for a few hours- it was brilliant watching the light change on the mountain as the morning progressed. We were very happy to be back by the fire and drinking tea! The Tibetans say it is very good luck to have an unobstructed view of Quomolonga (their name for Everest- you'll see in the photos that the marker even says Quomolonga!)

Overall an experience that was amazing on so many levels...
1) The journey in and of itself- driving through vast terrain, for many hours
2) Cultural- experienceing rural Tibetan culture... those at the base camp, the nomadic herders, our interactions, the food, tents, etc
3) Ecological - for me thinking about the flora/fauna, geology, weather, altitude, etc
4) The commercial aspect and novelty of "BASE CAMP Everest"- and seeing the road that is slowly making it's way closer and closer...pavement! I wouldn't be suprised if by the time of the Beijing Olympics 2008, tour buses will be shuttling back and forth full of Chinese tourist!!!

Gyantse Part 2
Young Monk and Grateful Dead.

Shigatsi

Sakya

Gyantse

MT. EVEREST Part 3

MT. EVEREST Part 2

Mt. Everest

Photos...?

Shawn and I were posting on the blog at the same time this afternoon... luckily we can still access to write/post, but cannot get on the blog to read/see it. Did the photos come through? Someone please send me an email to molly.persinger@gmail.com to let me if you are seeing them (or you can just click on the littl envelope symbol to link with my email direct from the blog site) THANKS!

CENSORED!

It has been interesting to see the CHinese "presence" here in Tibet... it is sort of sad. I read that the Dalai Lama is now seeking "autonomy" and not "independance." Unfortunately I think Tibet is too far past that with the Chinese to go back. (A great documentary film about this is "Cry of the Snow Lion"for anyone who is interested in the topic)

The POtala Palace is spectacular and huge overlooking the city- (where the Dlai Lama used to live before exiled) but definately (at least to me)has an empty feel (we have not gone in yet- but heard they will close it down to the public next year) There is a huge pilgrim circuit around the Potala and adjacent park that we spent some time "walking along" with crowd earlier today. At least they still let the pigrims in the palace for free 3 days per week, but I think the parts you can see are very limited (from what we have heard).

This is the thing that is so scary/sad... it seems that the Chinese are doing little things around town to almost twist the dagger in the wound so to speak.... for example- right in front of the Potala there is a huge raised CHinese flag- so you basically cannot get a picture of it with the flag front and center! And the park behing the palace that is part of the pigrimage rout- has been all redone by the CHinese (and is VERY NICE and MODERN) but they have CHinese music playing from speakers that have been blended into the part landscape (to look like a rock or tree stump) so while the "route" is really nice and meat and all redone (which I don't know if they think is a good thing or not)- the Tibetans have to listen to CHinese music the whole time they are walking along around one of the most religious sites! And the historic parts of the old city- big whitewashed brick buildings with ornate hand painting above the windows... all have China Unicom billboards at intervals along the whole street hung from the buildilngs.... The big clincher is right adjecent the Potala palace is a huge monument - "LIberation Monument" to commemorate the "peacefult liberation" of Tibet by the Chinese. Wow- the nerve!

Pictures/images of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan flag are totally banned are you can get arrested...our tour book mentioned that sneaking them in can get you in BIG trouble (even wondering about writing this?) We had to be careful with all the flag pathces Shawn had sewon his guitar case... we had them all sewn on except Tibet flag- will do that one at home (got put in the mail home as we we worried about even trying to hide it in the luggage.) Interestingly- the Westerners that we have met here who speak fluent Chinese (2 university professor) both say that the students are aware of the media censorship and know how to get around it if desired (ie internet portals, obtaining forieng newspapers etc) We have to be careful about topics of conversation with English speaking Chinese nationals- as they can get in trouble or be put in a bad position by discussing we us!

Being in Asia has really been a great history lesson for me.... from the Vietnam war, to Kmer Rouge..to here in China learning about the Cultural Revolution. communism, and Tibet conflict. Lots of confusing but intersting things- still more questions but much more knowledgle and insight than Ihad before the trip.

We leave tomorrow for a 6 day jaunt out into the countryside... which we have been told has much less Chinese development and lots of Tibetan villages and gorgeous mountain scenery, as well as many old monastaries (many of which are still very slowly being reconstructed after destruction during the cultural revolution) We're going with a nice couple we met- they actualy planned the whole trip itinerary and arranged the dirver and guid- but needed 2 more people to split the cost and share the 4 wheel drive. We have to go with a guide and get more special travel permits for outside of Lhasa- but the tour company is taking care of this and has been really competant and helpful. Interestingly when we asked about the guide and his/her English abilities- they said they would do thier best- but that they are not the ones who supply the guide! It is actually a government requirement and the government picks the guide and can send pretty much anyone- so it is outside the tour company's control.We asked what the purpose of the guide was- they said- well, to tell you about the monastaries etc, but that is a cover... they "need to be watching you" (those were the exact words!) So while a young energetic, English speaking native Tibetan would be the ideal... I think we are getting a Chinese babysitter :)

SO...we will be in the countryside for the next 6 days... out of blog contact. I'll be sure to write when we return... probably FULL of yak meak, yak yogurt, and yak butter tea. Wish me luck!

TIBET- First few days

We made it too Tibet (after paying alittle bit more than expected for the appropriate permits and flights) but we are he and loving it.

Lhasa is a bit built up due to Chinese development- but we expected this so were not disappointed when we got here. The old part of the city and the temples still look fairly authentic and not too "touched" by CHinese effort so we tend to stick to those areas of town which feel more historical and authentic. The best part of being here is watching/seeing ALL the TIbetans! There are so many pilgrims here to do the "circuit"- crowds of people walking clokwise along aset route around the bigger temples, along walls of prayer wheels etc... we just just in with them and move with the crowd. We've done this twice now and it's different everytime. Kind of like a Tibetan Mecca route- of Catholic trip to the Vatican to give some points of reference.

The crowd seems to be dominated by elderly women- all in their traditional Tibetan garb (long dark skirts covered with traditional striped Tibetan apron.. and the all wear more modern less traditional looking sun hats- sometimes floppy and frilly or with flowers, or sometime cowboy hat style!) These women look so sweet and charming- a twinkle in their eye and always a smile..despite being tiny wrinkly and old- likely from years of labor in the mountain sun. Most of them carry a small bronze prayer wheel in their left hand (careful to keep it always spinning) and prayer beads in the right. Some of the prayer routes are lined with bigger spinning bronze prayer wheels on the right (you spin as you walk along and make wishes/meditate)

Inside the temples are warm from all the yak butter candles that are buring... the monks chanting and playing low drums, ringing bells or playing the strange sounding Tibetan horn trumpet (not sure exactly what to call it) There is usually one large diety and several smaller ones... the pigrims always still moving clockwise from one to the next.. many of them praying or stopping in from of each one to place a dollar at it's feet or on the glass and do a short chant of their own...some bring packets of yak butter or food to leave. The mix of people, as i mentioned, is dominated by elderly women (probably 50%).. but the rest is split between men and women, young and old, rich and poor (you can tell from their clothes). Then mixed in with the occaisional white western tourist are the Chinese tourists (with their cameras!)

In front of the temples are people bowing and praying... bowing all the way down until they are flat stomach on the ground, prostrate....Think- like the Muslims pray but all the way down to the stomach. You see people walking toward the temples in the morning with a thin mat (to protect their clothes and knees) and hand protection (often padded shoe insoles that will slide well up and down the concrete as they pray). Some of the monks do this up and down from standing to belly all around the temple circuit while chanting...they go down and come up- then take a baby step to the left and repeat- for hours straight and chanting.

It is all really quite a sight. We have yet to go into any of the bigger temples (the ones that you have to pay) as we committed the first few days to altitude acclimitization- basically take it easy- walk around a bit to just take it all in and see what we see without a "programmed day"- resting when necessary. Overall we have been fine (knock on wood- although it has been 48 hours already) Our only problem is getting out of breath when we climb the 3 flights of stairs to our room... and SLEEPING! (which is common) Can't tell if it's related to the breathing (increased rate), the frequent need to get up and pee- somthing about the altitiude makes your body release a diuretic hormone- plus staying well hydrated is important to prevent headache etc so we are drinking more than usual- several liters per day...or it might just be the extreme driness of the air here- dry as a bone!

It is kind of desert-like- the landscape flying in was mountainous- but very sandy and craggy- not at all green except right at the edge of the rivers between the mountains. The sun here is very HOT too... even though low/high in the sky the light looks and feels different. Another factor- is that ALL of CHINA is on Beijing time...way across the country (for us that would be several time zones) So here it stays hot and bright until at least 8 pm!

Re: the altitude... when you buy packets of cookies/crackers... they are full of air...like a balloon around whatever is inside- For example the OREO cookie package- is so taut that if you pricked it with a pin it would POP! Also- with the dryness and altitude- NO BUGS. Have yet to make sight of a mosquito in Lhasa- woo hoo!

Strange note to end on...but need to break it up. on to the next...

CHINA Thoughts

A few random comments on China before I write about TIBET!
Overall travel has been VERY easy here... great infrastructure, many amenities- good cheap options, etc. Shawn says he thinks China is the country most like the US is many ways.... Overall really enjoying both the sights and the culture (I think Yunnan province is particularly beautiful calm and scenic so we pciked well)

A few complaints... the squat toilets! Always porceline and nicely installed- basically with a "collectin platform" that then gets washed down the pipe/plumbing when flushed"..a western topilet with no seat and not raised... a little bit bigger than the size of a shoebox.... even the bus stop public toilets have nice tile...but I can't seem to adjust to the backsplash! At least in Africa and India they put a bucket of water and a ladle in the toilet (or the hole just goes straight) down so with the water bucket you can self- correct poor aim or give you shoes a rinse.

The only solution I have come to for these shallow Chinese is try to pee very lightly and slowly to prevent backsplash- but how hard is that when your bladder has been bouncing around on a bus through the mountains for 3 hours? And no make matters worse...many places have NO DOORS! AND the orientation fo the squat is FACE FORWARD! They seem to have no problem with it.... all the foreigners have awkard looks and just stare at the fllor creating a sort of "self- privacy" while the Chinese women have converstaions, smoke cigarettes, etc.

OK- sorry for the "off" topic but i felt it was worth mentioning :)
One more sort of weird topic- unique to all of Asia...Vietnam and Cambodia, China too... they LOVE to clear their throat phlegm and spit it out. And loudly! Like a nice big loogie from way in the back of the throat, carefully rolled with techinique prior to discharge!. So you hear this all around- it's the equivalent to our blowing the nose- except here they make this big throat noise and then spit!

For the toddlers and babies- they bundle them up- and then put them in pants with the crotch cut out- no diaper needed! So you see these cute round faced chubby toddlers walking with all 4 limbs straight out from all the layers of clothes... but that one "area" is swinging in the breeze! It's funny! The weather has actually not been that cold- I think like lots of cultures they just bundle up the kids.... for us warm enough for short sleeves in the daytime... luckily no more humidity. Nice warm winds up in the mountain air.

Another major thing to note- is that this is the first place where we have been that language barrier has really been an issue. Of course- we are in China, so it is up to me to make the effort (if someone walked up to me at work an expected me to understand/speak Chinese back I would probably give them a weird look!) and we have meet many westerners- a suprising amount- who do speak CHinese- or have learned enough to get by... we stick with please and thank-you (Nihao, SherSher, respectively)! It's just and interesting thing having been to so many countries thus far and seeing how ubiquitous English really is (and how travellors from other parts of the world (like Japanese, Duthc, French etc) are able to get by in places like India or Cambodia by speaking English.

So China has been great and very easy once our pantomiming is interpreted and our bladders emptied. Most of the hotels give complementary disposable mini toothbrushes/toothpaste with the mini soaps (Shawn is particularly satisfied with this perk) We have lots of fun in restaurants too (hole in the wall street-side non tourist type establishments) pointing too food that others are eating and having all the clientel stare at us, critique our chopstick technique ane then we all wave bye-bye and smile to each other we get up to leave, our bellies stuffed with Chinese stuffed buns, dumplings, and spicy noodle soups. YUM

Kunming has a WALMART- 4 stories with escalators - we had fun shopping- alas the deodorant selection is less plentiful and placed as a specialty item with the make-up! But we stocked up on snacks and toiletries... The logo is the same and the store had exactly the same feel/set-up as back home- only major difference was the food section (more seaweed, fish, cooking sauces, Ramen noodle, etc...)

THink thats all on China for now... next blog entry about TIBET! -M

Hanoi Hotel Scams

Shawn here. Molly insisted I write this particular story.

I had been warned there is a scam in Hanoi (Oh, I should say first of all, I LOVE Hanoi. I thought it was very beautiful and interesting...too much to write about...the scam is funnier) in regard to hotels and cab drivers.

SCAM:
You get in a cab and tell the driver the name of your hotel.
He calls to tell the hotel you are on your way.
You get to the hotel and the manager says, "I'm sorry Mr. Shawn. I know you book hotel but now room full. You try my friend's hotel."
Then you are taken to another hotel and you stay there.

The scam is you have never been taken to your original hotel request. The cab driver has called a friend of his with a STACK of business cards of EVERY hotel in Hanoi. The cab driver takes you to the business card man. He shows you a business card with your hotel's name on it! You fall for it because you are Hanoi, frazzled, confused and most signs are in Vietnamese!

Alright, I'd been warned!

We get into downtown Hanoi. I'm keeping one eye on the city streets, one eye on my map. Hanoi is very easy to figure out, it has a beautiful, large lake in the middle of town, running North to South. And there are several large landmarks.

I notice we are on the completely wrong side of the lake! "Here is your hotel," the driver says. A man sticks his head in the window and says, "I'm sorry Mr. Shawn. I know you book hotel but now room full. You try my friend's hotel." All the time he is showing me a business card that has my hotel's name on it! He hands me the card. "All full. You try another hotel, very nice."

Molly and I have a rule. She stays in the cab, I get out and make sure we are where we are supposed to be. We have done this many times, in many cities, it's always fine. UNTIL NOW! I tell driver. "No! Wrong hotel. You take me here," and I point to map. Eventually, I actually tell the driver what streets to drive up, where to turn, "no right," even where to park! In the meantime the business card man is saying, "Please give me my card back." The card with our real hotel's name on it, the one he uses to scam travelers with.

"No. Good luck for me," I repsond.
"No. I must have card for business," he clamours.
"Oh, okay...Ten dollars."
"What!?!?"
"Ten dollars. I sell you card."
"No! Card for business."
"Yes, card good for business. Business good. Ten dollars."

Disgusted, he slides his head out of the cab and slinks back into his little corner of the street. No doubt waiting for his next cab full of unsuspecting travelers...at least he'll be down one hotel!

As I mentioned, I proceed to play navigator to our nefarious cab driver, calculating how much of his fare I'm actually going to pay him. He was not please. Molly and I were...immensely